Penguins News

What the Penguins Are Saying About the 200th Straight Sellout

by
Staff Writer
/ Pittsburgh Penguins

This Saturday the Penguins will hit a remarkable milestone against the Montreal Canadiens as they are set to sellout for the 200th straight game. The streak, which includes regular season and playoffs, began Feb. 14, 2007 against Chicago. The Penguins filled every seat in Mellon Arena (capacity: 16,940) for the final three-plus seasons of its operation.

On what has been his favorite part about the fans in Pittsburgh:Every game, I mean, I never experienced the fact that I’m going to the rink and I don’t know if it’s going to be a sellout or if there’s going to be 10,000 (people). They’ve always been there. They’re consistent every game. They cheer for us. Whether you’re playing well or not, they’re still behind you. Obviously, the fact that they sent me to the All-Star Game is a great thing, I can’t thank them enough for that.

On what it means to them as players to have the stands filled night in,night out:It’s just unbelievable. For hockey players, every night, we have a great crowd and we try to give a good show. What it feels (like)? It feels like – I don’t know, I’ve never had anything else.

On his favorite moments over the years and on the fans in general:Any of those moments in the playoffs when the fans start going, opening up this new building, playing our last one at Mellon. Those are all kind of memories that’ll always stay with you. But when you describe Pittsburgh, it’s definitely a sports town, and you know that being an athlete and a player and a fan of other sports in the city – that it’s a great place to play, but it’s also a great place to watch a game. The environment creates an atmosphere for any kind of fan to really enjoy.

On the 200th straight sellout this weekend:It’s awesome, especially coming from Dallas. Coming here you see right away what kind of sports town and hockey town (Pittsburgh) is. It’s fun playing in front of a packed house every night. The fans here love hockey and love the Penguins.

On the 200th sellout:When you get to 200 in a row, it’s nice because you don’t ever think about how many people will be in the building, or what the crowd is going to be like. I’ve played places where you think about those things. It’s nice just to know it’s going to be packed every night. We’re lucky.

On taking the streak for granted:When you’re in other places, maybe it’s a midweek game against a team that isn’t high profile, you know it’s going to be a quiet night. But we know it’s going to be full every night. We’re lucky to play in front of those fans.

On the 200th sellout Saturday:It’s amazing to see. The fans have supported us no matter what this season. The sellout streak speaks for itself. We can rely on our fans to get us through tough times. They bring energy into the building. It’s a fun place to play and we want to play hard for them.

On the fans support:It’s a big difference from Phoenix. It’s great to see the fans behind the team. Practices, games, they’re always there behind us. They love their hockey. It makes us work even harder. That’s why we play the games. We play for the fans.